Scaramucci Defends Trump ‘Lies,’ Says Most Americans ‘Get the Joke’ (Video)
“I’m not one of these sycophants where I’m going to sit out here and pretend that he hasn’t said a few things that are not truthful,” former White House communications director tells CNN
Jon Levine | December 11, 2018 @ 6:39 AM
Last Updated: December 11, 2018 @ 6:42 AM
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Monday that President Trump often “lies” to the American public but that it was all part of his broader way of communicating and that Americans were in on the “joke.”
“The president has told lies. I’m not one of these sycophants where I’m going to sit out here and pretend that he hasn’t said a few things that are not truthful,” he said during an appearance on CNN Monday. “You have to understand his operating style, you have to understand his presentation skills. The stuff that he’s saying that isn’t truthful, most people get the joke about it.”
“I’m not justifying it,”Scaramucci added, “I’m just explaining based on my observation of the president’s personality and someone who’s worked for him, what he’s doing and why he’s doing it and it’s been generally effective for him over the past 45 years.”
The Scaramucci defenses of Trump are a stark contrast to his earlier criticism of the president on Fox Business, which could occasionally be ferocious.
“Unbridled demagoguery has driven the GOP to an inflection point from which there is no turning back,” Scaramucci said in a 2016 Fox Business editorial, published several weeks before the Iowa caucus.
“If a populist prevails in the primary, as appears increasingly likely, the party faces either devastating defeat in the general election or a new, unrecognizable identity. In either scenario, a large swath of the GOP electorate will be forced to eat crow and reevaluate its affiliation,” he continued.
Scaramucci, a longtime New York City financier, rocketed to fame after President Trump tapped him to lead the White House communications team in July 2017. Scaramucci lasted only 11 days on the job after The New Yorker published several vulgar remarks he made toward several of his West Wing colleagues including Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus.
The Mooch — as he is widely known — has managed to stay in the limelight since leaving Washington, making the rounds as a media talking head, authoring a book about Trump, and stoking speculation about a possible television show with attorney Michael Avenatti.
Those plans are probably on hold after the lawyer famous for representing porn star Stormy Daniels was booked by LAPD on felony-class domestic violence charges last month.
15 Stars Who Imagined Violence Against Donald Trump, From Kathy Griffin to Pearl Jam (Photos)
Since the election, several celebrities have voiced their displeasure -- even anger -- with the Trump administration. Some have gone so far as to suggest violent measures. From Robert De Niro to Snoop Dogg, here are some left-leaning noteworthy people who have fanned themes of violence toward Trump and the GOP.
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Mickey Rourke
In a TMZ video from 2015, this boxer-turned-actor directed his rage toward Trump, calling him a "big-mouthed bitch bully," saying he would "love 30 seconds in a room with the little bitch." Rourke has also expressed a desire to "give [Trump] a Louisville slugger."
In late February 2016, the host of Comedy Central's now-canceled "The Nightly Show" joked about then-candidate Donald Trump: “I don’t want to give him any more oxygen. That’s not a euphemism, by the way. I mean it literally. Somebody get me the pillow they used to kill [Supreme Court Justice Antonin] Scalia and I’ll do it — I’ll do it!"
George Lopez
During the Republican primaries in March 2016, the Mexican American comedian tweeted a cartoon image of former Mexican president Vincente Fox holding the decapitated head of Donald Trump aloft, with the caption "Make America Great Again."
Marilyn Manson
Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson had to take his turn in the Trump-bashing festivities. In a teaser video for his song, "Say10," released just after the 2016 election, a Trump-like figure wearing a suit and a red tie lies decapitated on a concrete floor, in a pool of his own blood.
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Rosie O'Donnell
In July 2017, O'Donnell tweeted out a link to a game called "Push Trump Off A Cliff Again." This made many conservatives want to push her off a cliff, not POTUS.
Madonna told a crowd of thousands at the Women's March on Washington in January 2017 that she had “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House." The singer's profanity-riddled jab at the Republican administration provoked the anger of many conservatives.
The actor is not afraid to express his disdain for the commander in chief. De Niro confirmed to ABC's "The View" in February 2017 that he would like to punch Trump in the face. He clarified earlier comments, saying "It wasn’t like I was gonna go find him and [really] punch him in the face, but he’s gotta hear it."
Snoop Dogg's music video for "Lavender," released in March 2017, (literally) paints POTUS as a clown and orchestrates his death. At the video's end, the "Gin and Juice" rapper points a gun at the harlequin Trump figure and shoots. But instead of a bullet, a red flag that reads "Bang!" fires out of the gun.
The comedian landed in hot water in May 2017 after photos surfaced of her holding a fake bloody, decapitated Trump head. Griffin was promptly dropped from her annual New Year's Eve gig by CNN. Toilet stool company Squatty Potty also pulled its ads featuring Griffin. Trump himself called the photos "sick" and tweeted that his youngest son, Barron, was "having a hard time" with the images. Griffin later apologized.
The nonprofit theater staged a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in May-June 2017 that made conservative viewers want to revolt. In the production, a Trumplike figure playing the title role is stabbed to death by a band of angry Senators. The Public Theater subsequently lost sponsorships from Delta Airlines and Bank of America.
The musician's new video, released in June 2017, is simultaneously nostalgic and dystopian. In 1980s cartoon fashion, a giant Transformer-like Trump morphs into a swastika/dollar sign and wreaks havoc on a city before meeting a fiery, explosive demise.
During an appearance at the U.K.'s 2017 Glastonbury music and arts festival, the actor tore into the president -- "I think Trump needs help" -- and then made an ill-considered joke: “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Depp claimed his joke was misconstrued and eventually issued an apology.
Asked what he'd serve at a peace summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, the celebrity chef told a TMZ video crew in 2017: "Hemlock."
CNN
Big Sean
In February 2017 rapper Big Sean rapped a verse about killing the President on his "I Decided" album. The lyrics are, “And I might just kill ISIS with the same icepick/That I murder Donald Trump in the same night with."
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Pearl Jam
At a show in Montana in August 2018 that served as a fundraiser for Sen. Jon Tester, the Seattle-based rockers released a cartoon poster commemorating the show that featured a bald eagle picking at the rotting corpse of President Trump on the White House lawn.
Some celebrities have been more than outspoken in their criticism of the Republican president
Since the election, several celebrities have voiced their displeasure -- even anger -- with the Trump administration. Some have gone so far as to suggest violent measures. From Robert De Niro to Snoop Dogg, here are some left-leaning noteworthy people who have fanned themes of violence toward Trump and the GOP.